During temperature control of cabs and/or storage spaces of vehicles, aircraft, trains, ships and/or the like, the energy consumption which is caused by the air conditioning units used for this purpose is very high, particularly when the temperature differences between the internal temperature and the external temperature are particularly great. Depending on the load being transported, it may further be necessary also to cool the load down to a relatively low temperature level, which typically results in a high energy consumption, particularly in the case of high external temperatures. In the case of air conditioning systems which are supplied with electricity, as a result of the high energy consumption the discharge operation of batteries which store the electrical energy for the air conditioning units is accelerated. If internal combustion engines are used for propulsion, the batteries can be charged again, but this results in increased fuel consumption. The accelerated discharge operation of the batteries as a result of the energy consumption which occurs during temperature control results in a reduction of the range of the vehicle. Particularly in the case of electric vehicles, the range is typically a decisive factor for their market acceptance which is a decisive prerequisite for the fact that electric vehicles can become established on the market and can make a contribution to the reduction of the pollutant emissions caused by traffic, for example, CO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions.
In many cases, however, it is necessary to control the temperature of the entire cab and/or the storage space, particularly when the cab is only partially occupied. For example, in the case of station wagons or SUVs, the storage space is not spatially separated from the cab so that, for example, when the driver is the only occupant of such a vehicle, a substantially greater volume of air, that is to say, the entire air located in the cab and the storage space, has its temperature controlled for the well-being of the driver. As a result of the high volume of the air to be temperature-controlled, the temperature control takes a comparatively long time.
It would be desirable to provide a device with which the energy consumption during temperature control of cabs and/or storage spaces in particular of a vehicle can be reduced with respect to known vehicles.